2015

Annual Review of
Labour Relations and Social Dialogue
Bosnia and Herzegovina

GORAN STANKOVIC
March 2016

The year 2015 was marked by the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) between
the EU and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) that came into force on 1 June. In July, BiH
adopted an agenda of reforms tackling the difficult socio-economic situation, the judiciary
and the public administration.
In 2015 the economy of BiH started to recover, showing slight GDP growth but unfortunately
this did not have any positive effects on employment or salaries. The official unemployment
rate is still at 43 per cent.
In the Federation BIH (FBIH) a new Labour Code came into force in August 2015. This was
adopted through urgent procedure without public discussion and without participation of
social partners. Under the law workers' rights are reduced or even abolished and the law
provided for the automatic cancelling of all existing collective agreement 90 days after it
came into force. Currently, a slow and difficult process of negotiations regarding
harmonisations of General and Branch collective agreements is taking place.
In the Republika Srpska (RS), the Government adopted a draft version of a new Labour Code
at the end of November. The Confederation of Trade Unions of RS, branch trade unions and
workers in Republika Srpska have expressed strong concerns regarding the new law.
In terms of tripartite social dialogue, there was no significant progress and no steps were
taken towards the establishment of an Economic and Social Council at the state level of BiH
due to the fact that there are no legal provisions on the representativeness of social partners
on this level. There are tripartite bodies operating at regional and local entity levels.

GORAN STANKOVIC
ANNUAL REVIEW of LABOUR RELATIONS AND SOCIAL DIALOGUE

Content

Summary
Socio-economic developments
State policies and legislation
Industrial relations
Tripartite social dialogue
Forecasts

Annex - Information about:

Collective bargaining, social dialogue, social security, education & vocational
training, employment, wages
Trade unions and employer organizations

GORAN STANKOVIC
ANNUAL REVIEW of LABOUR RELATIONS AND SOCIAL DIALOGUE

1. SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS

prices on the international market. Inflation in

Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2015 was 0.25 per
cent.

In 2015, GDP in BiH grew about 1.2 per cent

and GDP per capita for 2015 was 7,384 BAM.
This equals only 28 per cent of the average
GDP of the EU-28. Total GDP in 2014
amounted to 28.395 million BAM (1 BAM =
0.51 Euro).

The average registered unemployment rate

decreased slightly to 43 per cent in mid-2015
while the results of the annual labour force
survey (using ILO methodology) showed that
unemployment for the second consecutive
year remained at 27.6 per cent. The significant
difference between the number of those who
are registered as unemployed and the number
based on surveys point to a fairly large
informal labour market. The structural nature
of unemployment is visible through the high
proportion of long-term unemployed, who
make up about four-fifths of the total number
of job seekers. In particular, a high proportion
of the unemployed are young people (there is
63 per cent unemployment among young
people aged between 15 and 24 years). The
number of employees in public administration
at all levels continued to rise, further inflating
the public sector. It is estimated that every
sixth inhabitant of Bosnia and Herzegovina
lives below the general poverty line. This
proportion is not surprising based on the
number of unemployed and the low average
salaries and pensions. The average net
monthly salary in BiH in 2015 was 830 BAM
(roughly 400). According to UNDP data from
2007, the Gini-index is 0.362.

Unlike 2013, GDP growth in 2014 was the

result of domestic demand rather than net
exports. As part of flood recovery efforts, the
investment was stimulated by payments.
However, the stagnation of investments in the
private sector continued. Private consumption
in 2014 remained reduced due to continuing
high unemployment and reduced wages.
Industrial production in 2014 remained largely
unchanged but the second quarter of 2015
showed some signs of increased activity. After
an increase of the current account deficit in
2014 due to the strong growth of imports, an
increase in exports and the cessation of
imports related to flood reconstruction helped
the current account deficit in the first quarter of
2015 to fall back from 7.6 per cent to 6.2 per
cent of GDP. The significant trade deficit of
about 25 per cent of GDP is mainly financed
by the inflow of transfers, such as remittances,
which rose to more than 11 per cent of GDP
and from the export of services. Net foreign
direct investment increased to around 3 per
cent of GDP in 2014.
Partly because of increased financial
assistance from the IMF, the net foreign
currency reserves in mid-2015 reached the
value of 30 per cent of GDP. The fiscal deficit
in 2014 reached almost 3 per cent of
GDP. Revenues from indirect taxes in the
course of 2014 had a positive growth.
Measures to increase fiscal discipline,
together with the increase in excise duties on
alcohol and tobacco contributed to the
increase in revenue. The overall public debt in
recent years grew steadily and by the end of
2014 reached 45.1 per cent of GDP.
Payments for debt servicing in 2014 reached
5 per cent of GDP due to the increased
issuance of short-term government securities
to offset the lack of funds because of nonpayment of a tranche by the IMF.
Inflationary pressure was reduced in the last
two years. The main factor that led to lower
inflation was the decline in the general level of
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GORAN STANKOVIC
ANNUAL REVIEW of LABOUR RELATIONS AND SOCIAL DIALOGUE

workers saying No to a new Labour Code

and sending a clear message to the
Government of RS and to employers that they
will not allow a decline of workers rights. A
number of strikes, especially in the private
sector, were held due to unpaid salaries and
unpaid employers' contributions for health
insurance and retirement funds.

2. STATE POLICY AND LEGISLATION

On 1 June 2015, the Stabilisation and
Association Agreement between the EU and
BiH came into force. In July, BiH adopted an
agenda of reforms tackling the difficult socioeconomic situation, the judiciary and public
administration. The BiH Presidency and
leaders of the 14 political parties represented
in the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and
Herzegovina signed and adopted the
declaration on undertaking reforms for the
advancement of European integration. BiH still
failed to implement the judgment of the
European Court of Human Rights in the
Sejdic-Finci ruling, according to which the BiH
Constitution is not in conformity with the
European Convention on Human Rights.

In the entity of RS, the Agency for Peaceful

Settlement of Labour Disputes RS has been
established, resolving more than a thousand
individual and collective labour disputes in the
last two years. From 1 January 2016 pensions
in RS are financed through the state budget
and payment of the pensions is made through
the entity treasury. The adoption of the new
Law on Bankruptcy Procedure, which will be a
more effective way to protect workers' rights in
bankrupt enterprises, is in the final stage. In
early 2015, the RS Government established
two working bodies, the Committee on Public
Sector Reform and the Committee on
Economic System Reforms, which have the
task of preparing a set of legal regulations in
their fields. A series of reforms were
conducted in RS in order to reduce the time
and cost of business registration and establish
a unified company registry system in order to
improve the business climate.

The country is in the initial stage when it

comes to reform of public administration, while
the judicial system made certain progress by
adopting the Justice Sector Reform Strategy,
committing repeatedly to judicial reforms
within structural dialogue with the EU. Some
preparatory activities have been undertaken in
the fight against corruption, through adoption
of the Strategy and Action Plan to combat
corruption in the period 2015-2019.
Cooperation and coordination between
different levels of government is still very weak
and underdeveloped.
The standby arrangement with the IMF,
agreed in 2012, expired on 30 June 2015 and
the last tranche of loans was disbursed in July
2014. The program did not proceed as
planned due to delays in the implementation
of
the
previously
agreed
structural
reforms. Negotiations are under way for a new
IMF agreement.
The official census results, conducted in
households and dwellings, are still not
available even though it was already two years
ago that Bosnia and Herzegovina conducted a
census. The year was marked by protests by
workers in FBiH, RS and Brcko District. In
FBiH a protest was held due to the adoption of
the new Labour Code that reduced workers'
rights and invalidated the existing collective
agreements. The protest was attended by over
12,000 trade unions members. In Republika
Srpska, a public protest was held during the
celebration of International Labour Day on 1
May with over 5,000 representatives of
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GORAN STANKOVIC
ANNUAL REVIEW of LABOUR RELATIONS AND SOCIAL DIALOGUE

3. INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

salaries and working conditions, such as

entitlements, pay raises, redundancy notice
period, breaks during working time, bonuses,
transport, and so forth. It is anticipated that
temporary contracts will be used more often
and for longer periods of time, if not
indefinitely, in some cases.

In the entity of FBiH, the new Labour Code

came into force in the middle of August 2015.
The law was adopted in urgent procedure,
without public debate and without participation
by social partners and with only the minimum
number of Members of Parliament required.
The Government of FBiH had adopted the
draft law in response to the interests of
business and the requirements of the IMF and
other international financial institutions.
Workers' rights are diminished or even
abolished under the new law and 90 days after
the effective date of the new law, all existing
collective agreement were automatically
cancelled.

Also the introduction of the concept of

readiness, an increase in overtime hours,
and full liberalization in the process of layoffs,
without any obligation to determine the
procedure of responsibility, is part of the
legislation. Collective agreements would be
limited in duration to three years, and, similar
to FBiH, the existing collective agreements
would become void upon the expiry of six
months from the date the law becomes
effective. The trade unions role would be
completely marginalized.

The trade unions of FBiH were not given the

opportunity to participate in the drafting of the
law through genuine social dialogue. The
trade unions suggested 26 amendments but
none were integrated into the law. Currently in
FBiH, a slow and difficult process of
negotiations regarding harmonisations of
General and Branch collective agreements is
taking place but employers have no interest in
concluding new collective agreements since
they are given the opportunity under the new
law to set their own internal regulations
governing all issues arising from employment.
Not surprisingly, the adoption of the law was
accompanied by a large public protest of
workers and union members.

A trend towards violation and disrespect of

basic human and workers' rights in a number
of enterprises in BiH is noticeable. This trend
has gained additional momentum in the midst
of the global economic crisis, providing
"justification" to the violation of workers' rights.
Another problem is that some multinational
companies do not allow workers to organize in
trade unions or to organize new members.

In the Republika Srpska, the Government of

RS adopted a draft version of a new Labour
Code at the end of November. The
Confederation of Trade Unions of RS, branch
trade unions and workers in the Republika
Srpska have expressed strong objections to
the Government of the RS about the new law.
The trade unions in RS demanded revision
and amendments to the existing Labour Code
rather than the adoption of a new law. As of
now, the draft text of the Labour Code
provides for the reduction of workers' rights,
the abolition of collective bargaining, enabling
employers to fully self-decide all the rights
arising from employment, flexible working time
and employment, and full marginalisation of
the trade unions.
According to the draft law, collective
agreements will be decentralized and hence
employers would independently decide on
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GORAN STANKOVIC
ANNUAL REVIEW of LABOUR RELATIONS AND SOCIAL DIALOGUE

4. TRIPARTITE SOCIAL DIALOGUE

economic activity should hopefully lead to an

increase in the minimum wage and
employment. Republika Srpska plans for the
coming year to set aside funds for action plans
of employment (about 20 million BAM) to help
reduce the high unemployment rate,
especially in the private economy and among
young people. The Employment Strategy
2016-2020 for RS is expected to be adopted.

In terms of tripartite social dialogue in Bosnia

and Herzegovina, there was no significant
progress in 2015 and no steps were taken for
the establishment of an Economic and Social
Council at the national level of BIH due to the
fact that there are no legal provisions on the
representativeness of the social partners at
this level. A particular problem is that the
Association of Employers of BIH represents
the interests of employers only from the
Federation BiH. Tripartite socio-economic
councils operate at the entity levels (RS and
FBiH) and in some cantons in FBiH. Since
2014 in Republika Srpska, social dialogue has
been in a stalemate due to the conflict over the
new Labour Code. As mentioned above, after
the adoption of the new Labour Code in the
FBiH,
unfruitful
negotiations
between
employers and trade unions representatives
about the harmonisation of the General and
Branch Collective Agreements started.

BiH is negotiating with the IMF about a new

agreement
which
should
encourage
macroeconomic stability but the executive
authorities will have to commit to reforms in
public administration and the judiciary. In the
Federation BiH, after the adoption of the new
Labour Code, the trade unions are expecting
to struggle in the process of harmonizing
collective agreements in order to restore at
least some part of the reduced workers' rights.
In Republika Srpska, the adoption of the new
draft Labour Code with all its consequences
for workers rights will be a challenge for the
Confederation of Trade Unions of RS. The
Confederation of Trade Unions of RS will
certainly use all means to preserve workers
rights.

5. FORECASTS
The positive economic trend of 2015 should
continue into next year, bearing in mind that
investment in infrastructure projects and the
energy sector should expand in 2016 and
subsequent years. Continued growth in
exports and foreign investments is expected,
which should lead to growth in GDP, a slight
decline in the unemployment rate and
increased private consumption. The increased

It is surely expected that 2016 will be marked

again by strikes and protests in both the public
and private sectors.
Local elections are scheduled for 2 October
2016 and the outcomes will largely define the
future economic and political situation in BiH.

GORAN STANKOVIC
ANNUAL REVIEW of LABOUR RELATIONS AND SOCIAL DIALOGUE

System of tripartite social dialogue

ANNEX OF DATA
Collective bargaining system

The system of tripartite social dialogue is

organized through the work of the Economic
and Social Councils at the level of FBiH and
RS. They involve representatives of the entity
governments, the largest confederations of
trade unions and entity associations of
employers. In RS, the representativeness of
trade unions and associations of employers is
legally regulated by amendments to the
Labour Code. In FBiH, this issue has not yet
been legally regulated, so the decisive factor
for participation in tripartite social dialogue is
the number of members of trade unions or
associations of employers. In FBiH, the new
Labour Code envisages regulation of the
representativeness of trade unions and
employers associations.

Collective bargaining in BiH is guaranteed by

the Constitution of BiH, the European Social
Charter, the ILO Conventions, as well as by
entity Labour Codes. The most important level
of collective bargaining in BiH is at the entity
level (FBiH and SSRS) because it is at this
level that General Collective Agreements,
which guarantee minimum rights and
obligations of both workers and employers,
are negotiated and signed. In Republika
Srpska, parties involved in collective
bargaining and conclusion of the General
Collective
Agreement
are
the
RS
Government, the Confederation of Trade
Unions of RS, and the Union of Associations
of Employers of RS. In the Federation BiH,
they are the FBiH Government, the
Confederation of Independent Trade Unions
of BiH and the Employers Association of the
Federation of BiH.

Social security systems

According to the law, all registered employees
should be 100 per cent covered by health and
pension insurance, as well as by
unemployment insurance. However, in the
years following the war, there has been a
marked presence of a grey economy, as well
as the practice of many companies of not
paying the contributions for their employees. It
is impossible to obtain accurate data on the
number of such workers. According to the
official rate, unemployment in BiH is above 40
per cent, estimated at about 43 per cent.
According to survey data the unemployment
rate (applying ILO methodology) is 27.6 per
cent. Furthermore, there are many employed
persons whose contributions for pension and
health insurance funds have not been paid.
These funds are teetering on the verge of
existence and with an increase in the number
of beneficiaries of pension funds the future is
dismal unless urgent reform of the system is
introduced. Currently, the ratio of workers vs.
pensioners is about 1.2:1, which is
unsustainable even in much stronger
economies.

At the branch level, the respective branch

trade unions and respective employers
associations conclude collective agreements
in both entities. A specific characteristic of
collective bargaining in the Federation BiH are
collective agreements concluded at the
cantonal level, which primarily pertain to
budgetary users and must be in line with the
General Collective Agreement and with
respective branch agreements. In both
entities, collective agreements may also be
concluded at the company level if there is an
organized trade union in the company.
Currently, there is a trend in BiH, particularly
advocated by the associations of employers,
to reduce the scope of rights regulated by the
General Collective Agreements and to bargain
most of the rights and obligations at the branch
or enterprise level. The trade unions are
unanimous in their condemnation of such
efforts as they believe that it is the General
Collective Agreements that represent the last
line of defence of workers' rights and that their
reduction would lead to a radical reduction of
workers' and union rights.
Lower level collective agreements generally
have not been harmonised with the General
Collective Agreement (especially in FBiH)
several years after their adoption.

Education and vocational training

As demonstrated by the increasing
unemployment rate, the education system,
including VET activities, is by far insufficient
and incapable of providing the workforce with
skills that are needed to find a job on the
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GORAN STANKOVIC
ANNUAL REVIEW of LABOUR RELATIONS AND SOCIAL DIALOGUE

labour market. Cooperation between the

education system and employers is still weak
and the proper functioning of the labour
market continues to be hampered by structural
rigidities and the weak performance of the
education and training system.

to education, as well as with the non-existence

of national curricula and syllabi. The higher
education system is going through a
transformation by means of introduction of the
Bologna Process. There is an increase in the
number of enrolled university students but the
problem occurs after they complete their
studies according to the Bologna system.
Ethnically-based and divided educational
systems still prevent the achievement of full
inclusiveness in education.

The entities of FBiH and RS and Brko District

are, inter alia, competent for regulating the
area of education as an integral part of the
social policy. In FBiH all powers in the area of
education
are
within
the
exclusive
competence of the cantons. Education and
training is not a significant item and they are
not a priority in the programmes of any of the
governments. The process of education
reform in BiH is proceeding at an uneven and
slow pace and is mainly focused on the
adoption of the necessary legislation in the
area of preschool, elementary, secondary,
higher and vocational education. Elementary
education is compulsory and according to the
newly reformed law it consists of nine years.
Furthermore, in all these years BiH has been
faced with the phenomenon of unequal access

Life-long learning is incorporated in the

strategy of vocational training in BiH and its
policies, and the goals of development of a
system of life-long learning have been defined,
but this type of education is not yet
systematically developed and none of
envisaged goals and defined measures had
been met by September 2010.

GORAN STANKOVIC
ANNUAL REVIEW of LABOUR RELATIONS AND SOCIAL DIALOGUE

Employment and unemployment

2011
(As of 30.09)
693,359

2012
(As of 30.09)
688,318

2015
(As of 30.09)
716,230

Number of unemployed persons

529,994

545,508

539,703

Registered unemployment rate

43.3 %

44.2 %

44 %

Survey unemployment rate

27.6 %

28.0 %

27.0 %

Survey employment rate

31.9 %

31.7 %

31.2 %

Number of employed persons

Source: Agency for Statistics of BiH; Labour Force Survey 2015 Final results

Average monthly salaries

Year

Average net monthly salary (EUR)

2009
2010
2011
2012
2015

403.92
408.01
417.21
420.79
425.64

Source: Agency for Statistics of BiH; Press Release Average paid net salaries in 2015
Gender pay gap
Regarding the differential amounts, the largest
difference in wages is found in the category of
persons without a degree, where the
difference is 88.50 in favour of men. The
wage gap is reduced as the education level
goes up so that at the level of secondary
school diploma the gap is 57.60. Women
with a university degree earn on average 92
per cent of net wages of their male colleagues.
According to research conducted by the
Agency for Gender Equality of BiH, the BiH
gender gap is larger than the EU average.

There is a noticeable wage gap between men

and women in BiH, which is primarily the
consequence of traditional distribution of
employment in some sectors and levels of
education. The analysis of wage differences
shows significant gender differences in all
wage classes, with the exception of the
highest and lowest wage classes, where the
number of male and female employees is
approximately the same. The wage difference
between men and women is largest in the nonindustrial sector and smallest among clerks.

GORAN STANKOVIC
ANNUAL REVIEW of LABOUR RELATIONS AND SOCIAL DIALOGUE

Monthly minimum wage ()

Federation BiH
Republika Srpska

2009
184.00
163.61

2012
184.00
189.18

2013
190.00
189.18

2014
190.00
189.18

2015
190.00
189.18

Source: General Collective Agreement for the Territory of FBiH and General Collective Agreement
of RS
Actual weekly working hours

limits the number of overtime working hours. If

required by the nature of work, the full-time
working hours can be redistributed but in such
a way that the average working hours can be
no longer than 52 hours per week, and for
seasonal jobs no longer than 60 hours per
week. If a redistribution of working hours is
introduced, the average working hours in the
course of one year may not be longer than 40
hours per week.

The Labour Codes and the General Collective

Agreements at the entity level of BiH define
the weekly working hours of employees as
including the total of 40 hours with a
mandatory 12 consecutive hours of rest
between two working days. It also includes 24
consecutive hours of rest in the course of one
week. Employees may work overtime but law
Normal work /atypical work

Number of persons in full time

employment
758,000
645,000
789,000
755,000
732,000
686,000
679,000

Year
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013

% of total number of
employed
89.28
72.47
88.65
89.56
89.70

Source: Agency for Statistics of BiH; Labour Force Survey 2013 Final results
Year
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012

Self-employed
Total
% women
193,000
26.94
197,000
27.41
176,140
27.40
175,440
29.78
163,000
28.22
185,000
30.20

Unpaid family members

Total
% women
37,000
70.27
48,000
68.75
58,039
68.90
47,265
73.03
43,000
72.09
38,000
71.05

Employed on parttime Sa basis

91,000
102,000
87,000
84,000
128,000

Source: Agency for Statistics of BiH; Labour Force Survey 2013 Final results
Migration
Data not available

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GORAN STANKOVIC
ANNUAL REVIEW of LABOUR RELATIONS AND SOCIAL DIALOGUE

Human Development Index

Year
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012

Index
0.706
0.710
0.709
0.710
0.733
0.742

International ranking

68
74

Source: http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/
Gini-coefficient

Year
2007

Index
36.3

International ranking
68

Source:http://www.indexmundi.com/bosnia_and_herzegovina/distribution_of_family_income_gini_
index.html
Collective agreement coverage

agreements signed with the entity ministries

are in force.

The General Collective Agreements, both in

the Federation of BiH and in RS, stipulate that
they are binding and that they apply to all
workers and employers. No collective
agreement concluded at the branch or
company level may grant lesser rights than
those stipulated in the General Collective
Agreements. Differences between the public
and private sector are especially pronounced
in the area of implementation of the existing
collective agreements and it is a fact that the
provisions of agreements are more frequently
violated in the private than in the public sector.
Ongoing
important
bargaining agreements

At the cantonal level there are collective

agreements in force in public administration,
education, police and health care, signed
between the respective trade unions and the
cantonal ministries. In RS there is the General
Collective Agreement, signed in 2012
between the RS Government, the Union of
Associations of Employers of RS and the
Confederation of Trade Unions of RS. There
are also 15 branch collective agreements in
force. Brko District has not adopted a general
collective agreement due to the specific
characteristics of the district in which
employers were free to act in accordance with
the collective agreements in force in one of the
two entities of BiH.

collective

The most important collective agreement in

the FBiH is the General Collective Agreement
signed by the three social partners in 2005. So
far it has been amended twice, with the
amendments pertaining to the amount of the
minimum wage and there have been ongoing
negotiations of social partners on more
substantial amendments. In addition to the
General Collective Agreement, there are also
23 branch collective agreements in force. In
some branches, mainly in the private sector,
the collective agreements have not yet been
fully harmonized with the General Collective
Agreement due to the absence of respective
sectoral employers' associations so that the

Trade union density

Although there are no official data that could
accurately indicate the actual number of
members of trade unions and the ratio
between this number and the number of
registered employees, the level of trade union
density in BiH, according to estimates, is
currently approximately 50 per cent. When
making this estimate, one definitely needs to
note that accurate data on trade union
membership are not available, which is a
consequence of the existence of great number
of firms where workers have not received their
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GORAN STANKOVIC
ANNUAL REVIEW of LABOUR RELATIONS AND SOCIAL DIALOGUE

salaries for several years or months so that the

payment of the membership fee, as one
indicator of membership, is either irregular or
it is not as regular to the extent it should be,
given the actual number of members of trade
unions in those firms.

trade union upon signing membership

application form, whereby he/she accepts the
rights and obligations arising from the trade
union statute. Employers cannot be members
of a trade union.
As for the employees councils, i.e. Works
Councils, their organization is regulated in
entity laws. In order for an employees council
to be formed, the employer must have at least
15 workers employed on a full-time basis. In
FBiH, an employees council can be organized
upon request of the trade union or a minimum
20 per cent employees of a single employer;
in RS, the decision on establishment of a
workers' council can be made by a minimum
one-third of the total number of workers of a
single employer. Rights and obligations of
employees councils and trade unions, as well
as the obligations of employers towards these
representatives of employees, are laid down in
the legal regulations and trade union acts.

In addition, there are workers who are

members of trade unions who due to
economic problems in their companies, are in
a sort of waiting status and who do not
receive any salary and consequently cannot
pay their membership fees. It is for these
reasons that records on paid membership fees
cannot be treated as accurate records of
actual membership.
There is a higher trade union density in the
public sector while trade unions in the private
sector most often exist only in companies that
used to have organized trade unions before
they were privatized. It is rarely the case in
newly established private companies that
employers allow union organization of
workers. Especially prominent have been the
problems that trade unions have faced in
organizing in multinational companies that
entered the BiH market.

It is also stipulated that if there is no organized

trade union within an employer, powers and
obligations of the trade union are assumed by
the workers' council (RS), and if there is no
employees council in FBiH, its rights and
powers are assumed by the trade union. In
general, there is a low level of organization of
employees councils in BiH, and especially so
in RS, and they are organized only
sporadically. Workers still have more
confidence in trade unions as their legitimate
representatives, which is partly due to the
long-standing tradition of organizing in trade
unions. Generally, the problem of the low level
of organization in employees councils and of
the low activity of workers in trade unions is a
consequence of the fact that workers'
representatives are denied their legal right to
participate in co-decision processes.

Employers organizations density

There are no accurate data on membership in
the national-level Employers Association of
BiH. As for the entity associations, according
to the latest available data, the Employers
Association of the Federation of BiH has
approximately 1,000 collective and individual
members, while the Union of Associations of
Employers of Republika Srpska, which
comprises 13 branch employers associations,
has 430 affiliated companies.
Workplace representation

Trade unions

According to law, workers in Bosnia and

Herzegovina are given the opportunity to be
represented at work through trade union
organizations and Works Councils. Trade
union membership is voluntary and a worker
becomes a trade union member by registering
for membership in the trade union of the
respective activity, i.e. the branch. Any
employed worker can become a member of a

In Bosnia and Herzegovina at the state level

the Confederation of Trade Unions of BiH is
comprised
of
the
Confederation
of
Independent Trade Unions of FBiH, the
Confederation of Trade Unions of RS and the
Trade Union of Brko District.

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GORAN STANKOVIC
ANNUAL REVIEW of LABOUR RELATIONS AND SOCIAL DIALOGUE

Name
Konfederacija
sindikata
BiH

English name
Confederation of
Trade Unions of BiH

Membership

Membership in international
organizations

223,000

ITUC, observer status in ETUC

SAVEZ SAMOSTALNIH SINDIKATA BiH (CONFEDERATION OF INDEPENDENT

TRADE UNIONS OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA)
Membership in
Branch trade union
Name in English
intl. organizations
Trade Union of Metal Workers BiH
IndustriAll-ETU
Sindikat metalaca BiH
Trade Union of BiH Post
UNI
Sindikat BH Pota
Independent Trade Union of
EPSU/PSI
Sindikat dravnih slubenika i
Workers of State Administration FBiH
namjetenika u FBiH
Independent Trade Union of Primary
EI
Samostalni sindikat osnovnog
School Education and Nursing BiH
obrazovanja i odgoja BiH
Sindikat radnika rudnika uglja Trade Union of Miners BiH
BiH
BWI
Samostalni sindikat umarstva, Independent Trade Union of
Forestry, Wood Processing and
prerade drveta i papira BiH
Paper in BiH
Independent Trade Union of
IndustriAll-Global
Samostalni sindikat radnika
Chemistry and Non-metal Workers
Union
hemije i nemetala BiH
BiH
BWI
Sindikat graevinarstva i IGM Independent Trade Union of Building
and Construction Materials Industry in
BiH
BiH
Traffic Trade Union in FBiH
Sindikat saobraaja u FBiH
Trade Union of BiH Telecom
UNI
Sindikat BH Telecoma
Trade Union of Textile, Leather,
IndustriAll-Global
Sindikat tekstila, koe obue i
Footwear and Rubber Industry BiH
Union
gume BiH
Trade Union of Electricity Workers
EPSU/PSI
Sindikat elektroenergetskih
BiH
radnika BiH
Trade Union of Utility Workers in
EPSU/PSI
Sindikat radnika komunalne
FBiH
privrede u FBiH
Independent Trade Union of Oil and
Samostalni sindikat radnika
Petrochemical Workers BiH
nafte i petrohemije BiH
Independent Trade Union of
UNI
Samostalni sindikat radnika u
Financial Organization's Workers BiH
finansijskim organizacijama
BiH
Unija sindikata policije u FBiH Union of Police Trade Unions in FBiH CESP
Independent Trade Union of Health
EPSU/PSI
Nezavisni strukovni sindikat
radnika zaposlenih u zdravstvu Service Employees BiH
BiH
Sindikat radnika eljeznica BiH Trade Union of Railway Workers BiH ITF
Trade Union of Trading BiH
UNI
Sindikat radnika trgovine BiH
UNI
Sindikat grafikih, izdavakih i Trade Union of Graphic, Media and
Publishing Workers BiH
medijskih radnika BiH
Trade Union of Secondary and High
EI
Sindikat srednjeg i visokog
Education, Nursing, Science and
obrazovanja, odgoja, nauke i
13

GORAN STANKOVIC
ANNUAL REVIEW of LABOUR RELATIONS AND SOCIAL DIALOGUE

Culture BiH
kulture BiH
Trade Union of
UNI
Sindikat hrvatskih
Croatian Telecommunications Mostar
telekomunikacija Mostar
Trade Union of Pensioners BiH
Sindikat penzionera BiH
Sindikat hrvatske pote Mostar Trade Union of Croatian Post Mostar
SAVEZ SINDIKATA RS (CONFEDERATION OF TRADE UNIONS OF
REPUBLIKA SRPSKA)
Membership in
Branch trade union
Name in English
intl. organisations
Trade Union of Metal Industry and
Sindikat metalske industrije i
Mining RS
rudarstva RS
Trade Union of Trading, Catering,
UNI
Sindikat trgovine,
Tourism and Services RS
ugostiteljstva, turizma i
uslunih djelatnosti RS
Trade Union of Health Workers of RS EPSU/PSI
Sindikat zdravstva i socijalne
zatite RS
Trade Union of Education, Science
EI
Sindikat obrazovanja, nauke i
and
kulture RS
Culture of RS
Trade Union of Forestry, Paper and
Sindikat umarstva, prerade
Wood Processing RS
drveta i papira RS
Trade Union of Media and
Sindikat medija i grafiara RS
Graphic Workers RS
Trade Union of Construction,
EPSU/PSI
Sindikat graevinarstva i
Housing and Communal Services of
stambeno-komunalne
RS
djelatnosti RS
Trade Union of Traffic and
Sindikat saobraaja i veza RS
Connections RS
Trade Union of Administration RS
EPSU/PSI
Sindikat uprave RS
Trade Union of Judiciary RS
Sindikat pravosua RS
Trade Union of Agriculture and Food
Sindikat poljoprivrede i
Industry RS
prehrambene industrije RS
Trade Union of Internal Affairs
EPSU/PSI
Sindikat radnika unutranjih
Workers of RS
poslova RS
Trade Union of Financial
WOW
Sindikat finansijskih
Organizations RS
organizacija RS
Trade Union of Textile, Leather
IndustriAll-Global
Sindikat tekstila, koe i obue
and Footwear RS
Union
RS
Trade Union of Telecom RS
EUROFEDOP
Sindikat Telekoma RS
SINDIKAT BRKO DISTRIKTA (TRADE UNION OF BRKO DISTRICT)

14

GORAN STANKOVIC
ANNUAL REVIEW of LABOUR RELATIONS AND SOCIAL DIALOGUE

Employers Organisations

of Associations of Employers of RS, and the

Association of Employers of Brko District BiH.
In RS, the Union of Associations of Employers
is vested with representative status.

At the state level, there is the Association of

Employers of BiH; its members are the
Association of Employers of FBiH, the Union

Name
Asocijacija
poslodavaca BiH

Name in English

Membership

Employers Association of BiH

UEAPME
Membership in
Membership in
nat. organisations int. organisations

Name

English name

Udruenje
poslodavaca u FBiH

Association of Employers of
APBiH
Federation BiH
Federation of Employers
APBiH
Associations of RS
Association of Employers
APBiH
of Brko District
Union of Associations of
Employers of RS

Savez poslodavaca RS
Udruenje poslodavaca
Brko distrikta
Unija udruenja
poslodavaca RS

Membership in int.
organisations

15

About the Author

Responsible:
Valeska Hesse

Goran Stankovic is a Legal Advisor for the

Confederation of Trade Unions of Republic of
Srpska

Commercial use of all media published by the

Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) is not permitted
without the written consent of the FES.

Imprint
Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Regional Project
Labour Relations and Social Dialogue

on

Marthyho 6 81106 Bratislava Slovakia

www.fes-socialdialogue.org

The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung or of the
organization for which the author works.